What Happened During The Salem Witch Trials

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What happened during the Salem Witch Trials

Have you ever heard about the Salem Witch Trials? Well, the Salem Witch Trials was an event which rich citizens would accuse poor citizens of being witches. It all started in Salem Village, Massachusetts 1692. Mostly the Salem Witch Trials were about poor women being accused of being witches and if they said they weren’t then they would be “punished”. It all began with a group of girls acting out.
The Salem Witch Trials was a time of depression and hunger. It all began in Salem Village, Massachusetts. When tension between the poor side and the rich side were flying high two girls (rich side) accused three women (poor side) for being witches. The reason why they accused them was that “In …show more content…

The doctor diagnosed they were bewitched Since the belief in the supernatural was extremely high they believed the girls. The three women accused were “ Parris’ Caribbean slave, Tituba, along with two other women–the homeless beggar Sarah Good and the poor, elderly Sarah Osborn–whom the girls accused of bewitching them” (History.com). Tituba confessed to being a witch (mostly to avoid prosecution), but the other two plead not guilty. Tituba also accused others of being a witch. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn were found guilty anyway and were sentenced to death. Even men were killed because they didn’t want to testify against their spouse. The total victims were: 20 killed people, Bridget Bishop (executed June 10, 1692), Rebecca Nurse (July 19, 1692), Sarah Good ( July 19, 1692) ,Elizabeth Howe (July 19, 1692), Susannah Martin ( July 19, 1692,Sarah Wildes ( July 19, 1692),George Burroughs (August 19, 1692),George Jacobs Sr. (August 19, 1692), …show more content…

There were a bunch of false accusations were thrown around. There is much philosophy about the Salem Witch Trials. “Emily Oster posits that the ‘little ice age’ caused economic deterioration and food shortages that led to anti-witch fervor in communities in both the United States and Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (Daily.jstor.org). Some philosopher suggests that Salem Village was poor and needed food, so why not just draw attention to yourself and get food. A director made a play called the “The Crucible” that showed the cruel reality of the Salem Witch Trials. Some people (not philosophers) think it was a government conspiracy. Some scientist thinks that it was “One of the more controversial theories states that the girls suffered from an outbreak of encephalitis lethargica, an inflammation of the brain spread by insects and birds. Symptoms include fever, headaches, lethargy, double vision, abnormal eye movements, neck rigidity, behavioral changes, and tremors” (Daily.jstor.org) All of the accusers also had the same symptoms and were sent to the same doctor which diagnosed it witchcraft. Most doctors said that if they didn’t know what it was. Another theory was “Linda Caporael argues that the girls suffered from convulsive ergotism, a condition caused by ergot, a type of fungus, found in rye and other grains. It produces hallucinatory, LSD-like effects in the afflicted

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